Born On a Battleship

I read in the paper this morning that the Taliban is flourishing despite opposition. This shouldn’t surprise any student of history. Opposition is the sure way of keeping a 'cause' alive. Christianity survived, thrived, and increased through 2,000 years of resistance and persecution.

Paul said the Christian’s mindset should be that of a soldier suffering hardship (2 Tim. 2:3). He frames the Christian’s struggle as warfare (2 Cor. 10:4), and declares that those who suffer with Christ will reign with Him (2 Tim.2:12).

Do you see yourself as a Passenger on a Cruise Liner or a Battleship?

I recently heard a Christian motivational speaker compare a Christian’s expectations to that of passenger on a cruise ship or a battleship. Unfortunately, too many Christians, he said, expect that being a Christian is like being a passenger on a cruise ship—fine dining, comfortable living quarters, sunny skies, easy living, etc. But such people are quickly disillusioned when they experience long lines at meals, noisy, inconsiderate cabin neighbors, and cloudy days. On the other hand, Christians who see themselves as passengers on a battleship have no such preconceptions to set them up for disappointment. Like sailors on a battleship, they know meals will be mediocre, and they expect inconveniences of confined living quarters: crowded bunk rooms and shared bathrooms.

The speaker’s point, of course, is that we should have a “battleship” mentality rather than cruise liner expectations.

I was very grieved when Joel Osteen answering Larry King’s question “is it hard to live the Christian life?” said “No, Larry: it’s fun.”

I fear many Christians are going to think they signed up for a cruise ship when they got born again, and, not knowing that they were “born” into a war zone, will, as Paul said, be “shipwrecked” in their faith.

What about you? Do you have a battleship or a cruise liner mindset?

[Hint: you can know the answer to this question by asking yourself how much you complain and grumble about your circumstances! Your disappointment is directly related to your expectations!]